The business and culture of our digital lives, from the L.A. Times

Google to move into Binoculars Building designed by Frank Gehry in Venice

January 25, 2011 | 10:12
pm

Google is adding a pair of binoculars to the list of giant-sized objects placed in front of its office buildings.

But these binoculars can't be considered just any oversized sculpture.

They're the namesake for the iconic Binoculars Building in Venice, designed by famed architect Frank Gehry.

The sculpture itself was created by noted artists Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen.

Google seems to have a penchant for abnormally sized object in front of its work spaces.

The lawn in front of Building 44 at Google's Mountain View, Calif., headquarters is decorated with huge statues celebrating the various releases of its Android mobile operating system, each named after and depicting a dessert treat -- cupcake, donut, eclair, froyo and gingerbread -- along with a massive green Android mascot.

Google will lease about 100,000 square feet in Venice, moving employees from their current location in Santa Monica. In their report, the three said:

Google representatives confirmed Tuesday night that the company had signed a lease for the properties, saying its employees would begin moving into the offices this year.

Google's new complex of buildings will have more square footage than its current facilities in Santa Monica, where the largest of the three buildings has 45,000 square feet and houses 300 employees.

"Los Angeles is a world-class city with a talented workforce, and we're thrilled to expand our presence as we enter our biggest hiring year in the company's history," said Thomas Williams, a senior director of engineering at Google.

The expansion in Venice is part of Google's largest hiring spree so far, with more than 6,000 employees to be added this year, Guynn reported earlier Tuesday on the Technology blog.

For more details on the Binoculars Building's history and Google's plans in the former headquarters for the Chiat/Day ad agency, read the full Times Business report here.